Deck structure for seating furniture



Sept. 15, 1964 c. A. GRUPEN DECK STRUCTURE FOR SEATING FURNITURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 24, 1961 000000000000 0 000000 000 0& 8 0900000000000 0000000000000 0000000900000 00000000000000 OOOOOOOOOOOOOO O OOOO OO O O O O O OO 9 OO O O O0 OO O O O O O O O O 00 0 O O OQOO O O O 9 000 O OO O O O00 OO 9 OO 6 O OO O 6 O OO O 0 60 OO O O O O 000 O O OO O O O 0000 moooooo b 0000000 FIGS FIGA

- -INl ENTOR. Chas A.Grupen Sept. 15, 1964 c. A. GRUPEN 3,148,872

DECK STRUCTURE FOR SEATING FURNITURE Filed April 24, 1961 s Sheets-Sheet 5 26 FIG.6

IN VEN TOR.

Chas. A. Grupen Se t. 15, 1964 c. A. GRUPEN 3,143,872

DECK STRUCTURE FOR SEATING FURNITURE Filed April 24, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

H6. :1 I w ChaSLA Grupen METM Sept. 15, 1964 cl A. GRUPEN DECK STRUCTURE FOR SEATING FURNITURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 24, 1961 INVENTOR.

n r i A B 04 5 \6 6 United States Patent 3,148,872 DECK STRUCTURE FGR SEATING FTURE Charles A. Grupen, 159 Glenwood Blvd, Mansfield, Ghio Filed Apr. 24, 1961, Ser. No. l05,ii96 2s (Ilairns. (til. 2679l) This invention relates generally to the construction of a spring platform seating deck for upholstered furniture and more particularly to improved webbing, springs and to the tying of the same.

Burlap cloth webbing is the most popular form of webbing and is employed principally in strips which are woven together in passing between the front and back and between the side rails of the furniture frame. This burlap webbing in strips must be folded at their ends where they are tacked to the rails. The webbing must be stretched upon fastening them to the frame. When the bottoms of the springs are sewed to the webbing and then tied down at the top under tension, the taut webbing does not flex but must stretch to withstand the constant initial compression forces of the tied down springs. Being initially strong and lively when crumpled in the hand, jute strip webbing provides a firm support that has been popular for many years. The best of burlap webbing dries out and the initial plus the constant working by an increased heavier load further stretches the fibers and they lose their life and do not properly support the load. The firmness has gone out of the upholstery and sixty to eighty percent of the original seating quality is lost. The furniture is still useable until the webbing tears or the twine breaks which is frequently long before the upholstery is worn.

Metal strips have been substituted for burlap webbing. Some strips were flat and others corrugated. The latter has a crumpled croft cemented thereto by a tar product to reduce the noise factor. The fiat strips did not last as they produced an uneven distribution of forces to the frame rails and their lively action was difficult to hold. The corrugated strips are still in use and provide the same problem as the flat strips out in addition the corrugations being transverse of the strip some times sag because of a specific point loading which expands the corrugations beyond their set and they will not return. This is a condition similar to the stretched burlap. The springs no longer having initial compression will lose their firmness in holding up the upholstery and thus lose the greater percent of their seating quality.

These and other problems have been overcome by this invention wherein the principal object is the provision of a sheet Webbing constructed of any suitable material such as metal or a Fiberglas cloth that is plasticized into a sheet by a resin which sheet is perforated. This sheet Webbing will flex but in the plane of the sheet it is very strong. Thus when fastened by rod, screws, nails, brads, tacks or cemented to the rail frame of the furniture it provides a reinforcement that cannot be obtained by any other webbing. It actually strengthens the rail frame. It distributes the forces applied thereto by the springs, in all directions equally to the rail frame. No torque is applied to one rail as against the other rail as with strip webbing whether it is burlap or metal. The sheet has flexibility owing to its own strength of elasticity which is unlikely to be overcome, so the sheet cannot take a set far enough to lose that initial seating quality experienced by burlap and the corrugated strips.

This sheeting is perforated for two principal purposes, first to accurately locate the spring coils to properly support the deck and the load applied thereto. The perforations are employed to initially spot the springs which when fastened thereto will always remain in that position. Secondly the upholstered structure provides considerable flexure and the air entrapped therein must either be com 3,148,872 Patented Sept. 15., 1964 pressed or whistles through small openings but when the whole of the sheet webbing is perforated the air is exhausted and drawn through the holes without noise.

Another important object is the improved coil springs. Regardless of whether the coil is helical, spiral or double spiral, the last or bottom turn is provided with a plurality of tines or spurs that are integral being welded or brazed thereon or the wire of the last coil is bent to form the tines or spurs. It is preferable to use two or three of such spurs one being the end of the last and bottom turn of the coil. The time furthermost from the end if first placed in a selected hole of the perforated webbing then the next adjacent tine and so on until the last tine on the end of the turn. The holes in the webbing into which the tines are inserted are selected to require the last turn of the coil spring to be flexed to a circumference smaller than its unfiexed circumference to insert the tines in their selected holes. In this way the turn exerts an expanding pressure to lock the tines in place. To assure the locking each tine may slant radially outwardly and downwardly from the wire to produce a shoulder or the bottom of the tine may have an outwardly projecting foot wherein the cross section of the tine and the extent of the foot is chosen to pass down through the perforation and lock itself in position. If the tines are welded to the last turn they may well be a head such as a screwhead that will readily pass through the perforation and look under the sheet with just enough clearance.

The next important object is the provision of a U-shaped brace member on the top turn of the coil spring. This is either shaped into the top turn of the spring or welded or brazed thereon as a separate piece. Such a brace has a straight section that engages and is fastened to the rim wire of the seating spring deck when this rim wire must be spaced from the top turn of the coils where a soft front is presented and has a small overhang. It is the practice to pull the coils off their vertical centers to attach their top turns to the rim wire. This creates many difficulties, the most serious is that it redistributes the seating forces losing firmness where it should be and thereby reduces the seating quality of the piece. The springs that are pulled off to one side at the top will not flex on their vertical central axis which reduces this seating quality. These braces or brackets keep the springs on their vertical axes and still provide for the outboard support of the rim wire. The rim wire may then be secured to the top turn of all other springs that lie tangent there to by clamping the same directly thereto.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a perforated webbing that will properly support the spurred coil springs at predetermined positions where they will correctly support the seating deck and when provided with brackets on tangent and tied with each other each spring will flex substantially on their own vertical central axis.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of a twine to tie the top deck of the springs together. This twine is made from the popular plastics being of synthetic resinous material known by trademarks such as Dacron, nylon, Orion and the like. These are difficult to tie and require an offset in the wire so that the twine may be looped thereover to be pulled on itself and thus secure the plastic twine to the top turn of the coil springs rather than to tie the same. This practice may of course be followed using a combination twine of hemp or cotton with plastic or hemp and cotton alone. The spring turn need be offset with a small open loop that allows the plastic twine to lie therein and then with a reversed loop in the twine thrown up over the offset the twine end comes of the loop being caught on itself to complete the tie. Regardless of what the twine is 3 made of this tie with the twine locked on itself and pulling on itself is better than an overhand knot across a wire. It has much longer life because of the flexibility of pulling on itself and keeps the twine out of engagement with the first deck covering to avoid abrasion.

Another object is the provision of webbing sheet having scallops or castellated around its perimeter where it is fastened to the rails of the frame. The scallops or the castellated edge is fastened to the frame which maintains rigidity in the plane of the web to the frame but provides increased flexibility of the webbed sheet normally to its plane. The castellated edge may extend further on the frame and allow the inbetween portions for the fastening of the upholstery. Usually this sheet webbing covers half of the bottom edge of the rails making up the frame. The other half being for the fastening of the upholstery.

Another object is the provision of means for preventing any noise between the metal web sheet and the springs under certain circumstances. The sheet or the spring ends may be plastic or rubber coated. Such a coating may be painted or dipped initially. While constructing, the elastomer coating may be sprayed on those areas where it is specifically required from a pressurized container. Again a leather, cork or plastic sheet may be placed under each spring. The flexing of the second turn can create noise when it is free but very little noise is produced when the deck is completely tied down under initial compression and if noise is then found it may be sprayed with a rubberized coating to cure the defect before adding the upholstery.

Other objects and advantages of this invention appear hereinafter in the following description and claims.

The accompanying drawings show for the purpose of exemplification without limiting this invention or the claims thereto, certain practical embodiments illustrating the principles of this invention; wherein FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a hand tied top seating deck on an unupholstered chair frame.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation with parts in section of the structure shown in FIG. 1 with parts broken away.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the frame structure shown in FIG. 1 with parts omitted.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged View in side elevation of the top and bottom of a spring as shown in FIG. 1 with parts broken away.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of one tine shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a. perspective view of a modified top turn of the spring shown in FIG. 1 with parts broken away.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the spring shown in FIG. 6 as applied to front rim wire.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a modified form of spring for four way tie and a folded tine with a foot.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective View of the top spring turn of the spring showing eight cord locking portions for an eight way tie.

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a tied seating deck in an unupholstered chairframe employing the spring shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view of the bottom spring turn over a perforated sheet webbing but not attached thereto with a dotted showing of these tines attached.

FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view of a chair frame having a perforated sheet webbing wherein the adjacent perforations are offset relative to each other and spring applied.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged detailed perspective view of a mounted spring shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a perforated sheet having spring aligning slots.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 the hand tied spring platform mounted in a chair frame and without any upholstery applied thereto wherein the chair frame 1 is made up of front and back members 2 and 3 and the side members iand 5 to which are attached the leg members 6, the back members 7 and the arms 8.

The under side of the substantially rectangular frame made by the fastening together of the rails 2 to 5 has secured thereto the perforated sheet webbing 10. The perforated sheet webbing may be secured to the under side of the frame by means of screws, nails or other suitable fastening means such as indicated at 11. This perforated sheet webbing being of the same size as the frame can be made of sheet metal, the gauge of which is sufficiently thin to provide a small degree of flexibility even though it is fastened along each of its four edges to the four rails of the frame. The corners of the webbing are notched as indicated at 12. to provide clearance around the leg 6 of the furniture. It will be noted in MG. 3 that the perforated sheet webbing member til does not have to cover the whole of the frame made by the rails 2 to 5 as the webbing extends short of the outer edge of these rails to permit the attachment of the outside covering of the fabric when being secured to the frame. After the perforated sheet webbing member has been applied to the chair frame one may depress the center of the same and obtain a small degree of flexibility. Thus the structure although being made of sheet metal does allow a certain amount of deflection within the elastic limits of the sheet. Although sheet metal is preferable and steel is the most preferable of the metals the sheet may likewise be constructed of a Fiberglas structure that has similar flexibility under the same use. Regardless of the ma terial of the perforated sheet webbing member the perforations serve two important functions, one is to allow the free passage of air in and out of the chamber enclosed by the application of padding and exterior covering which makes the seat in the form of a bellows when weight is applied and removed therefrom as by sitting.

The second important use of the holes is a provision 1 for the anchoring of the coil springs employed to support and lock in uniform distribution the whole of the set of the bottom turn of the spring. By first inserting the tine i that is remote of the spring end into its proper perforation then flexing the last turn so as to contract the same to a smaller diameter than the second or next consecutive tine may be selectively inserted through its proper opening. The last tine at the end of the bottom turn is of course the last to be inserted and since this last turn of the spring had to be reduced in diameter to make these insertion the pressure of the spring trying to expand to its original shape locks and holds the tines in their respective openings of the perforated sheet webbing member.

These tines are shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 wherein each spring member 13 has on its bottom turn 14 the tine member 15 which is welded or brazed to the bottom turn 14 at a position at least one hundred and eighty degrees from the end of the bottom turn which is turned downwardly to form the tine 15. The tine 16 may likewise be brazed to the end of the bottom turn 14 but it is much simpler to turn the end of the spring down and form the tine as illustrated in FIG. 5. As shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 the tines 15 and 16 slope downwardly and outwardly relative to the central axis of the spring. This slope on these tines does not interfere with their insertion in the holes 17 of the perforated sheet webbing member but the tendency for the bottom turn 14 of the spring is to lock this sloping surface against the side of the holes and thus prevent the tines from becoming disengaged after they have been inserted in the properly disposed holes 17.

Thus after the perforated sheet webbing member has been attached to the front, back and side rails 2 to 5 of the chair frame, the springs are merely positioned by placing their respective tines in the proper holes 17 of the webbing so as to pre-locate and retain the spring in this position during the balance of the construction of the overstuffed furniture which when completed more firmly locks these tines in position.

When each of the springs 13 have been so positioned as illustrated in FIG. 1, a perimetral rim wire 18 is secured by the means of a clip type of clamp illustrated at 21) which are preferably stiff metal members and when locked with a plier-type of tool will clinch and retain the annular rim wire 18 to each of the perimetrally positioned springs 13 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Where the perimeter wire 18 ends as illustrated at 21 by the ends overlapping each other a clamp 29 is applied thereto to complete the continuity of the perimetral wire.

The front springs 13 have welded or brazed to their top turn 22 the U-shaped brace member 23 the ends of which are secured to the top turn 22 as illustrated at 24- and the bottom of the U 25 being straight or let us say, complementary to the immediate adjacent portion of the perimetral wire 18. This straight section 25 of the brace 23 is secured to the perimetral rail wire 18 by means of two clamps 20 as shown in FIG. 1 because of its extended length and to prevent rocking or slippage between the two members. These U-shaped brackets 23 being secured to the front section of the perimetral rail 18 provide a sturdy and staunch support for that section of the overstuffed furniture which it did not otherwise have with the spacing allowance of the front section of the wire 13 from the ordinary top turn 22 of each of the springs 13. This allows for good bracing to support the front edge of the upholstery preventing it from breaking intermediate of its ends and aiding to redistribute the load on the very end rearwardly to the springs to which the U-members are attached and further through tying to the next row of springs. This avoids the pulling of the upper section of the first row of springs off their vertical centers as is the practice of the present mode of tying and clamping the springs directly to the front section of the perimetral rim wire 18.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 wherein the coil springs 13 have provided in their top turn 26 an offset 27 in the form of the bracket 23 having a straight section 28 for attaching directly to the perimetral wire rim 18. The extent of the offset 27 of this bracket made in the top turn of the spring wire itself is sufficient to support the front section of the perimetral rim wire 18 sufficiently forward of the vertical axis of the springs 13 as to perform their function in the same manner as the brackets 23 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 7 the section 28 of the offset 27 is held to the wire rim 18 by means of the clamps 26 in the same manner as that described in conjunction with FIG. 1. Thus the forming of the offset as an integral part of the top turn of the spring coil 13 provides a more economical structure and performs the same function.

The perimetral rim wire 18 extends rearwardly so as to be tangent to each of the coil springs 13 as shown in FIG. 1 and are attached thereto by the clamps 20. As illustrated in FIG. 1 the spacing of the front row of coil springs 13 is slightly greater than the spacing of the coil springs 13 in the second row which in turn are again slightly greater in the spacing of the coils 13 in the rear or last row so that a perimetral rim wire 18 is not exactly square or rectangular but the back section being slightly shorter than the front section. This is permissible with the use of the perforated sheet webbing member which allows the operator to pre-arrange the positions of these springs 13 on the perforated sheet webbing member to properly locate the springs and still retain their axes substantially vertical even after being tied down which is an important feature of this invention and is obtained by reason of the perforated sheet Webbing member in combination with the interlocking tines of the spring 13. This feature improves the structure of the upholstered furniture in that the structure requires the coils 13 to be retained substantially vertical and when completed the use of the upholstered furniture by one sitting and rising therefrom will properly support the person and when the springs 13 are flexed they will not flex laterally but will flex vertically and thereby materially reduce the load on the tying structure on the frame and on the webbing which increases materially the life of the structure.

The use of the perimetral rim wire 18 as a frame at the top of the deck or seating platform provides what is known as a soft front in overstuffed furniture as the extent of the front section of the perimetral rim Wire 18 is sutficient to permit it to flex between the corners of the perimetral rim. With this type of so-called soft front upholstery the front rail 2 is of course materially lower than the perimetral rim 18-. If the furniture is built so as to have a hard or stiif front, the perimetral rim 18 may not be employed as the front rail 2 will extend substantially to the top of the springs 13 and its top edge will receive a material amount of overstufiing to create the so-called hard front. The perimetral rim 18 frequently may extend part-way back on the sides and not be made completely in a perimetral fashion owing to the fact that the rear area of the upholstery has a different relation to the rear and side rails of the frames 3, 4 and 5. In any event, the perimetral rim wire 18 when secured to the brackets 23 of the front row of springs and at points of tangent at the sides and back row of springs materially aids in holding the seating deck in proper position so as to maintain each of the individual coils 13 with their central axis retained vertically when in use.

Referring now to FIG. 12 the perforated sheet webbing member 39 which for the sake of disclosure let us assume is made of flexible Fiberglas material wherein the resin is formed over layers of Fiberglas cloth in such a Way so as to provide flexibility and strength in the mem ber and it is sufiiciently thin and strong to support the area of the overstuffed furniture that is required of it. This perforated sheet webbing member has scallops 31 that may be castellated or arcuate in perimetral design to permit the scallops of the perforated sheet webbing to extend clear to the edge of the frame 1 allowing a generous exposure of the rails in between the scallops for the purpose of securing the upholstery to the frame. Again the scallops are preferably open inwardly of the rails 2, 3 and 4- as illustrated in FIG. 12 so as to permit the scallops to function with some flexibility to the perforated sheet webbing but still provide an equal pull on each rail of the frame when load is applied thereto which is a definite improvement over the present practice wherein torque is created on one or two rails as against the other two rails which with constant use of the resilient upholstery structure will loosen the frame. Thus the perforated sheet webbing member is an important improvement of this invention.

The perforated sheet Webbing member of FIG. 10 also provides the holes 17 in rows that make them offset relative to each other which provides a difierent selection of the openings in placing the springs 13 with their tines extending through these holes. Frequently different sizes of coil springs 13 are more adaptable to the quadrangular distribution of holes as shown in the perforated sheet webbing of FIG. 1 as against the perforated sheet webbing member 30 of FIG. 12.

The scalloped or castellated perimetral edge on the perforated sheet webbing member 30 is more readily adaptable to the front rail 2 of a chair which is scrolled or otherwise shaped than a straight rail. The scallops are readily adaptable to the rises and falls of an unevenly edged front rail and still permit proper securing of the flexible perforated sheet Webbing member to the under side of this constantly changing rail.

The perforated sheet webbing members 10 and 30 represent an improvement over the present practice in that the sheet itself is cut to fit in the desired manner the under side of the frame 1 whether or not they allow a spacing between the edge of the scallops or the sheet to the outer edge of the rails forming the frame. The sheet when out is applied directly to the frame being secured to each of the rails without any pre-stressing of the sheet. In the first place, it is impractical to attempt to stretch a sheet of metal or plastic and in the second place, the flexibility of the sheet is in an axis normal to the surface of the sheet. Thus the perforated sheet webbing itself func tions as a brace being tied equally to each of the four rails 2 to 5 which is not the case where webbing strips of jute or metal are employed. Since the perforated sheet webbing member is secured to the under side of the frame it redistributes and stabilizes the distribution of forces between the four rails.

In view of the fact that the perforated sheet webbing member cannot stretch in its own plane but may flex in axes normal to the plane it will not assume a permanent set in sag and will readily flex back and forth with the movement of the springs and thus materially extend the life of the furniture. The limited flexibility of this perforated sheet webbing member will not dispose the bottom turn of the springs 13 at such an angle as to shift the load laterally of the axis of the spring creating distraction not only of the perforated sheet webbing member but also of the frame. In other words, the springs 13 are retained and required to always produce a proper action throughout the use of the spring. The springs are thus always held permanently in their same relative position which is not true when metal or jute strip Webbings or solid jute webbing or fabric is employed that will take a permanent sa set.

Referring again to FIG. 1 the top coil of the springs 13 is smooth and continuous being a standard spring and these coils are secured in what is known as a four way hand tie wherein the manilla twine 32 forming the front and back tie members is secured to the rear rail 3 as indicated at 33 and extends to one of the intermediate turns of the coil springs 13 as indicated at 34 with an overhand knot tied thereon and then extends upwardly across the coil to where a second overhand knot as indicated at 35 secures the end of the top turn 26 with its adjacent second turn and thence travels across the space to where it is tied at 36 to the top turn 26 of the next consecutive spring and thence across the top turn to where it is tied at 37 to the same top turn and thence travels across the open space to where it is tied at 38 to the top turn 36 of the corner spring 13 and thence across this spring to the front perimetral rim wire 18 to where it is tied as indicated at 40 and thence extends downwardly to where it is secured to the front rail 2 as indicated at 41, the twine then passing up to the third turn of the coil 13 being tied as indicated at 42 and thence upwardly to the point 43 where it is tied at one hundred and eighty degrees to the same coil turn placing it closer to the top and thence it travels to the second turn and is tied thereto as illustrated at 44- on the end spring of the middle row and thence to the point 36 where it is tied with the former twine. Each of the front to rear rows are secured in the same manner.

The lateral or side ties extend from points such as illustrated at 45 on the rail 4 to the point 36 which is the third turn of the coil and thence passes upwardly to the top turn as indicated at 46 Where it is tied to the springs thence travels laterally across the row of springs being tied at the consecutive points disposed one hundred and eighty degrees across the top turn as indicated by the points 47, 48, 49, 5t), 51, 52 and thence to the third turn of the coil as indicated at 53 and thence is secured to the rail 5 as indicated at 54.

Upon making these ties both front and back laterally and crosswise these springs are initially compressed so as to place in each of the springs 13 an initial tenion which not only supports the deck as a substantially uniform surface but also aids to retain the tines in interlocking themselves in the perforated sheet webbing and produces an initial shape to the seating deck which is preferably flat at the top, all of the springs 13 being equally compressed. This initial compression of the springs of course is true of all upholstered furniture, however, by the use of strips of jute and metal as the webbing an equal compression may not be provided in all of the springs 13. The perforated sheet webbing permits the use of equalization of compression of each of the springs and allows them to maintain their central axis substantially vertical so as to properly function in supporting the load regardless of where it is applied.

The tying of the twine to the springs with simple overhand knots is an old practice and some times wire rings are used for this purpose. Iowever, one of the important improvements in this invention is the use of a twine or tape made of a synthetic resin such as that known to the public under the trade names of nylon and Dacron and by reason of their being small and difficult to lock in knots are preferably employed with springs having interlocking projections such as illustrated at 54 in FIG. 8 wherein the plastic twine may be inserted down in the space formed by the projection and looped therearound with a reverse tie so as to interlock the twine on itself and thus firmly hold the twine to the top turn 26 of the spring 13. Thus the projections or notches 54 in the top turn 26 of the coil 13 as shown in FIG. 8 would be employed with four in number for the four way hand tie as illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 9 the top turn 26 of the coil 13 is provided with eight projections or notches 54 which not only permits the tying of each spring front to back and laterally side to side but also in both diagonal positions as illustrated in FIG. 10.

The extra diagonal ties diagonally brace the springs 13 as extra support in constructing a uniform seating deck. It allows less wear than that of the four way tie in that the diagonal twines will aid in distributing the forces in eight ways rather than four.

Referring again to FIGS. 8 and 11 wherein a modification of the times is shown, the tine 55 which is innermost in the bottom turn 14 of the spring and the tine 56 together with the tine 57 are distributed substantially one hundred and twenty degrees from each other and these tines are formed by doubling the wire itself and extending it downwardly in the form of the stem 58 and building the lower end thereof outwardly to form the foot 59. The holes 17 of the perforated sheet webbing member are sufficiently large to pass the foot 59. However, when the bottom turn 14 is compressed inwardly to a smaller diameter for inserting both of the tines 56 and 57 after the tine 55 has been in position. This flexure of the bottom turn applies its resistance to making it smaller in holding the stems 58 of each of the tines against the edge of the holes 17 that they occupy with their foot extending under the plate as illustrated in FIG. 11 in dotted lines. Thus the foot 59 prevents the last turn of the coil from umping away from the perforated sheet webbing member as the spring is repeatedly violently flexed. Both the sloping of the tines 15 and 16 as shown in FIG. 5 together with the foot structure 59 on the vertical stem 58 will adequately lock each spring relative to the perforated sheet webbing member and will actually lift the webbing member if the spring reaction is sufiiciently violent in the flexing and unilexing of the knots 13.

After the deck structure has been tied as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 10 to form a uniform fiat seating deck structure and a cover is then applied over the seating surface and tacked to the frame over which is placed a padding of soft material such as cotton or rubberized hair to form the soft padding over which is applied the outside fabric. Upon initially applying this upholstery material the deck of the seating spring surface may be compressed further which has the tendency to remove some if not all of the tension on the twine tying the springs upholstery covering will readjust itself and stretch suf-. ficiently to allow the seating deck to assume its proper position with the tines tightly holding them in the manner that they were originally secured together. Each of these elements making up the overstuffed furniture aid in retaining the deck structure in its original and proper posi tion together with the perforated sheet webbing member and thereby continue to support each of the springs 13 with their axis substantially vertical so that they may flex as intended to along their vertical axis and not laterally as they would without the use of the perforated sheet webbing member and the spring bracket members in combination with the perimetral rim wire.

In view of the fact that the perforated sheet webbing member retains the position of the bottom turn of each of the springs although the seating deck of the springs may be flexed in one position or flexed in such a way as to tilt or slant the upper ends of the deck surface the deck surface functions as a unit and will not independently apply lateral strains attempting to apply torque on the frame causing it to loosen up. The double conical spring 13 permits the deck to be tilted and still equally divide the forces to the perforated sheet webbing member; whereas if the webbing member were permitted to independently support one spring at an angle such a deviation at the bottom of the spring will oflset the spring action at the top and spoil the uniformity and the support and comfort of the seating deck structure. By use of the perforated sheet webbing member which maintains the bottom turns of the springs 13 and is substantially flat positioned the springs 13 will maintain the original horizontal position of their top turns and thus provide the same softness and uniformity and flexibility and comfort as initially built into the upholstered furniture. This is principally due to the fact that the top turn of the spring may be tilted one way or another but will retain the proper comfort because the bottom turn is retained always in a substantially horizontal position and the flexure of the springs 13 is maintained substantially along their own vertical axes.

The perforated sheet webbing member which may be made in large sheets or cut from perforated coils adapts itself to many shapes and sizes to closely follow many variations in the design of the furniture without in any way hindering the proper function and distribution of the springs of this invention.

Again the perforated sheet webbing member if made of steel or aluminum or other metals is readily adaptable to be welded, bolted or brazed or otherwise secured to metal frames and thus provided furniture with a metal frame without losing the advantages of a perforated sheet webbing member whether it is used in combination with deep coil springs or with shallow coil springs which may be helical or combined helical and spiral, the seating deck being anywhere from three to four inches in depth, whereas the structure shown in FIG. 1 may be from seven to eight inches in depth. In the shallow spring deck it makes little difference as to whether or not the frame is made of wood or metal. In this use the perforated sheet webbing member will retain its shape and will not flex sufficiently to cause sagging which is an important factor in this improvement. A material that sags becomes unsightly in a shallow spring platform because the platform is ordinarily normally supported by high legs.

Referring now to FIGS. 12 and 13 the chair frame 1 which shows only two of the four rails 3 and 4 is provided with a flexible perforated sheet webbing 60, the perimetral edge of which is scalloped as indicated at 61 having alternate tongues 62 and recesses 63. The tongues are sufficiently long and wide to provide two or more open ings for receiving the fastening means 11 and the recesses extend back off of the rail members so as to provide flexibility in the tongue members. Yet this sheet member will provides for adequate bracing of the chair frame owing to the fact that it is very strong in its major plane and each of the .four edges is secured to the four rails of the frame to hold them in staunch relation relative to each other. The perforated sheet 6% is also provided with additional advantage in that the alternate lines of perfora tions are offset relative to each other. This provides a different combination in fitting the tine members 15 on the spring members 13 than that of the perforated sheet webbing 10 shown in FIG. 1. Otherwise the structure of FIG. 12 is substantially the same as that illustrated in the foregoing structures.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 a silencing pad 64 is provided between the perforated sheet webbing 60 and the bottom of the helical springs 13 which of course may be straight helix or a combination of a spiral and a helix commonly referred to as a single cone spring or a double cone spring wherein a spiral reduces to the cen ter of the spring and then increases to the top thereof. Regardless of the spring structure or the manner of attaching the same to the sheet webbing some of the springs of a large upholstery seating deck that has a considerable crown may upon sudden forces create a slight noise against the perforated sheet webbing if the latter is made of metal. To avoid this, one may coat the sheet Webbing with a rubberized material and the springs. This is easily done by a hand spring from a pressurized container when constructing the piece. On the other hand, one may employ a cushion such as the disc 64 made of resilient material preferably an elastomer of natural or synthetic rubber or even cork. This disc need not be too thick and the tines 15 are sufliciently long to extend through these discs and interlock themselves in the perforations of the sheet webbing as illustrated in FIG. 13 where the tines 15 are formed by bending back the wire on itself and producing a foot 59 on the bottom thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 14 which depicts merely a perforated sheet webbing 65 which will be noted is provided with rows of perforations in the form of round holes that are offset relative to the holes in the adjacent rows as illustrated in FIG. 12. However, spaced between selected perforations is an additional and larger perforation such as illustrated at 66 in the form of a slot. The slots 66 in every transverse fifth row are parallel to each other. However, in the third, seventh and equal multiple row the slots 66 are turned at right angles. These slots may be employed for attaching the perforated sheet web- I bing to the frame if they occur at the proper position or they may be employed together with the other perforations for attaching overlapping sheet webbings to each other in a large section of furniture of angular shape. Although they are not as beneficial for supporting the tines 15 they can be used for this purpose when the tension of the spring forces the time against the end of the slot.

The principal value in the use of slots or other mode of marking the perforated sheet webbing is to provide the upholsterer with a guide in pre-selecting the positions of springs for a long furniture piece where many springs are employed in parallel rows. By the use of some form of marking on the perforated sheet webbing the operator may quickly and accurately pre-position the springs without the aid of measuring and marking the same. This is found to be a very valuable time saver in the construction of the upholstery and these perforations although they are slots have all the attributes of the other perforations in that it aids in passing air or for secur ing the perforated sheet webbing to the frame or even in supporting and locking the tines with the spring in place.

Although there may be a slight deflection in the center of a flexible perforated sheet webbing particularly when made of light gauge steel, aluminum or Fiberglas reinforced plastic it does not sag within the meaning of this term as applied to webbing made of jute, burlap and other similar materials. This is not true of a metal strip as a metal strip in use is known to sag because of the concentrated pressure areas actually creating a stretching of the metal as when employed in the manner similar to that of jute strip. Since the metal strip when employed as a strip webbing will stretch and create sag it gives a downward pull on the nail or screw fastening members owing to the angular application of forces due to the sag, whereas the perforated sheet webbing which is an integral square sheet when fastened to the four sides of a frame applies the forces transversely of the fastening member placing it under shear and thereby avoiding the loosening of the fastening member from the frame.

I claim:

1. Seating furniture deck structure consisting of an annular frame, a perforated sheet webbing secured to said frame, a plurality of spiral springs of conical shape supported by said perforated sheet Webbing, attaching means engaging selected of the perforations in said sheet webbing to secure said springs to said perforated sheet webbing in a predetermined pattern to distribute their forces to said frame for supporting a load, said perforated sheet webbing having many more perforations than that required for said attaching means to permit air circulation therethrough and tie means to flexibly secure the opposite ends of said springs relative to each other and relative to said frame to pre-form the deck structure of the seating furniture.

2. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 1 characterized in that said perforated sheet webbing is a flexible reinforced plastic sheet with the reinforcing embedded therein.

3. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 2 characterized in that said reinforced plastic sheet includes a perimetral reinforcing member to strengthen the frame attachment.

4. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 1 characterized in that said perforated sheet Webbing is on the bottom of said deck structure and said tie means includes a wire mesh member having a perimetral reinforcing member to strengthen the frame attachment.

5. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 1 characterized in that said perforated sheet webbing is a flexible metal sheet.

6. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 1 characterized in that said perforations in said webbing are uniformly positioned and spaced holes aligned in lateral and longitudinal rows for presetting the spiral springs.

7. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 6 characterized in that a selected pattern of the holes in said perforated sheet webbing are larger than the other holes to enable accurate spotting of the spiral springs over the area of said perforated sheet webbing.

8. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 6 characterized in that a selected pattern of the perforations in the sheet webbing are slots oriented in predetermined directions.

9. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 6 characterized in that a selected pattern of the perforations in the sheet webbing are alternate slots and holes to enable accurate spotting of the spiral springs over the area of said perforated sheet Webbing in a predetermined cross pattern.

10. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 1 characterized in that said frame consists of front and back members connected to two side members, said perforated sheet webbing is secured directly to the underside of each member of said frame.

11. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 1 characterized in that said perforated sheet webbing is wider than the base of the spiral springs of conical shape to permit the perforations to hold the attaching means and to support the whole of the base of the spiral springs.

12. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 1 characterized in that said perforatedsheet webbing is 1.2 in sectioned parts to fit said frame, and a key member to receive and interlock the adjacent edges of said perforated sheet webbing sections to support each other.

13. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 12 characterized in that said adjacent edges of said perforated sheet webbing have inturned flanges and said key member is an element the cross section of which has inturned flanges to interengage with inturned marginal flanges on said perforated sheet webbing.

14. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 1 characterized in that said perforated sheet webbing is coated on at least one side before assembly to deaden the spring noise.

15. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 1 characterized by a plastic coating on the ends and the adjacent helical turns that strike the sheet Webbing of said spiral springs of conical shape to deaden the movement of the collapse of said spring on said perforated sheet webbing.

16'. An overstuffed furniture seating deck structure consisting of an annular frame, a perforated sheet Webbing secured to said frame, a plurality of spiral m're spring coils supported by said perforated sheet webbing, a depending perforation interlocking means adjacent the end of the last circular turn of each spiral wire spring coil projecting downwardly through said perforated sheet webbing and transversely therefrom thus providing a locking shoulder, a second depending perforation interl0cking means spaced from said first interlocking means and intermediate of said last circular turn of each spiral wire spring coil and projecting downwardly through said perforated sheet webbing and transversely therefrom thus providing a locking shoulder in an opposite direction from the shoulder of said first interlocking means, said interlocking means of each spring interlocked in selected perforations to secure said spiral wire spring coils to said sheet webbing when the last circular turn of each of said spring coils is flexed to engage with said interlocking means in said selected perforations to hold said spring coils and secure them under pressure to said webbing when said last circular turn is released and to lock said spring coils relative to each other, and tie means to flexibly secure the opposite ends of said spring coils relative to each other and to said frame to complete the deck structure. 1

17. The overstuifed furniture piece of claim 16 in that said flexible sheet webbing member having many perforations to permit a selection of specific perforations in a predetermined pattern to locate spring coils thereon, notches at the corners of the sheet webbing to isolate the sides from each other to match said frame, means to secure each isolated side to the corresponding side of said frame.

18. The overstuffed furniture piece of claim 17 characterized by scalloped edges along each of the isolated sides for attaching the same around the four sides of the frame.

19. An overstuffed furniture spring of claim 16 in that said tie means includes a plurality of tie hook means in the form of bends bent downwardly and back forming a loop substantially closed at the top to produce an indentation on each side and in spaced relation on the top turn of the coil, said bends depending downwardly and outwardly to receive a tying twine secured to said hook means by passing through the bend and looped back over itself and in said indentations for securing the top of the spring.

20. An overstuffed furniture spring of claim 16 which also includes a bracket means on the top turn of said coil, said bracket having two arms in spaced relation on said top turn and extending outwardly in the same direction, and a section connecting the outer ends of said arms, said top turn and said bracket means forming a deck part.

21. The overstuffed furniture spring of claim 20 characterized in that said bracket is independent and said arms 13 in position. However, after a short period of time the of said bracket are secured to said top coil turn.

22. The overstuffed furniture spring of claim 20 characterized in that said bracket is an integral part of said top coil turn, the arms and connecting section being formed in the spring wire.

23. An overstuffed furniture spring of claim 20 characterized by a rim wire forming an outboard part of a deck structure, and securing means to interengage the rim Wire With said connecting section.

24. Seating furniture deck structure comprising a frame, a Webbing secured to said frame, a series of springs quadrangularly positioned in rows on said Webbing and attached thereto and extending vertically above at least one portion of said frame, bracket means on the top turns of the row of springs adjacent that portion where the springs extend above said frame, each bracket having spaced arms extending outwardly over the frame and a section connecting their outer ends, each of said bracket connecting sections being substantially aligned, and a rim wire coextensive with said connecting sections and connected thereto.

25. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 24 characterized in that said rim wire extends beyond said brackets and is bent at an angle to continue tangent with the top turns of each consecutive spring coil along each side of the deck and connected thereto.

26. The seating furniture deck structure of claim 25 characterized in that said rim wire extends beyond the last spring coil on each side and is bent at an angle to continue tangent with the top turns of each consecutive spring coil along the back of the deck and connected thereto until the rim wire overlaps itself and are connected together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 106,980 Rich Aug. 30, 1870 681,124 Lally Aug. 20, 1901 820,766 Cole May 15, 1906 1,295,296 Francisco Feb. 25, 1919 1,343,565 Hunt June 15, 1920 1,923,435 Gilpin Aug. 22, 1933 2,276,516 Roy Mar. 17, 1942 2,330,617 Parker et a1 Sept. 28, 1 943 2,593,953 Wunderlick Apr. 22, 1952 2,687,767 Clark Aug. 31, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,148,872 September 15, 1964 Charles A. Grupen It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patentshould read as corrected below.

Column 13, line 1, strike out "in position. However, after a short period of time the".

Signed and sealed this 5th day of January 1965.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Attosting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. SEATING FURNITURE DECK STRUCTURE CONSISTING OF AN ANNULAR FRAME, A PERFORATED SHEET WEBBING SECURED TO SAID FRAME, A PLURALITY OF SPIRAL SPRINGS OF CONICAL SHAPE SUPPORTED BY SAID PERFORATED SHEET WEBBING, ATTACHING MEANS ENGAGING SELECTED OF THE PERFORATIONS IN SAID SHEET WEBBING TO SECURE SAID SPRINGS TO SAID PERFORATED SHEET WEBBING IN A PREDETERMINED PATTERN TO DISTRIBUTE THEIR FORCES TO SAID FRAME FOR SUPPORTING A LOAD, SAID PERFORATED SHEET WEBBING HAVING MANY MORE PERFORATIONS THAN THAT REQUIRED FOR SAID ATTACHING MEANS TO PERMIT AIR CIRCULA- 